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Who is ALEC?

A major conservative group says it will no longer advocate for Voter ID or "Stand Your Ground" legislation. Cynthia Gordy, senior political correspondent for The Root, discusses the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), who they fund, and why they announced that they are changing their priorities.

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Comments [10]

Yvonne
from Park Slope

Sorry for the belated reply but I could not get my computer to cooperate.

In response to the question of what connection there might be between "public safety and elections", my first immediate thought was racial profiling and suppressed voter registration ... now who might this be targeting?????

Captain Dr "G" : you are muddying the waters again - your scenario of a KKK mob confronting you does call for self defense..

in the case of the black man on LI, you must know that the laws in NY are DIFFERENT from the recent stand your ground laws being implemented by ALEC and DIFFERENT from the laws in Florida. Also, this involved a gang of white youths going to his house to attack his son and he and his family were being threatened. but again, the black man was convicted for defending his family while if it had been a white man he more than likely would have been acquitted (which undermines the point you are trying to make).

Regarding your comment on Zimmerman not being able to retreat because he was on the ground, you need to look at how he got there. The problem with this 'stand your ground' or lay on the ground' law is that any person (let's say white) has a right to go and incite someone. and if that someone responds or attacks you, then you have a legal right to execute that person (let's say minority) because your life was threatened. It all depends on the color/sex/age/wealth of the characters involved and where you choose to pick up the story. - which should not apply if we are a country of just laws. the main problem I have with the Treyvon case is not so much that you had a crazy racist individual who executed a kid, but that hte police and the judicial system were more than willing to dismiss this case as justifiable defense and the lack of value they placed on the life of this kid who happened to be black

The Trevon Martin v Zimmerman incident seems unaffected by which standard is being used. If Zimmerman chased Trevon down and shot him, then Z was not merely standing his ground.If Z was lying on his back with his head being slammed on the pavement, then he had neither opportunity nor duty to safely retreat.

The most recent case I recall of duty-to-retreat resulting in a conviction of the assault victim, was of a black Long Islander, convicted for shooting a white teenager, who rushed the black man on the man's own lawn.

One of the world's largest publishers of scientific and medical journals, Reed Elsevier, was for years a member of ALEC, and of its corporate leadership group. Many scientists who've published in Elsevier journals like Cell or The Lancet would be shocked to know that profits from those journals helped fund a climate-change-denial group like ALEC.

ALEC claims it's getting out of the "social issue" business-- but you can be sure they'll continue to oppose action against global warming, which they consider part of their "economic" program.

For more on Reed Elsevier, science & ALEC, see this report in the CUNY faculty union newspaper:http://www.psc-cuny.org/clarion/april-2012/academic-journals-and-corporate-interests-reed-elsevier-and-alec

Very suspicious of this organization and their move to shut down this onerous part of their activities. First, the damage ALEC has inflicted on our body politic has been accomplished -- many states have enacted these stand your ground and restrictive voter id laws. This organization should continue to be monitored for future activities. And the corporations who have withdrawn support should be watched to see if they rejoin as soon as the negative press dies down. Astonished that Gates Foundation supported this group.

Why Brian avoids inclusion of a long list of activist groups and especially Occupy Wall St, since September 2011, fighting against ALEC? Brian keeps saying Trayvon case as the main event as the major push against ALEC. is that true?

The key question is why are corporations involved in drafting state level legislation to restrict voter access by implementing strict voter ID requirements? Why is unrestricted access to guns in the interest of corporations? Don't most violent crimes that occur in companies and factories usually involve an angry employee or ex-employee with a gun? Why would companies want to promote violence and terrorism at the workplace?

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